Yesterday in preparation for embracing truly remote isolation for the next few months, I had to pick up three different horses (all currently at private, remote desert locations) and bring them to a fourth private farm to meet the vet.
I haven't taught in person in the last month, and these horses will be making the 1,400-mile journey north through country most folks in the USA have never even been to. Do you know what it is like to drive for 300 miles on one road and only pass a few other vehicles? My rig is self-sustained, including with enough fuel so that we never have to engage with another human to make the entire trip! We will summer in isolation in the heart of the rocky mountains.
None of the horses I picked up had met one another. Each has had a limited time spent with me. I had to catch, halter, load and move on to the next location, three times. And a massive storm was coming.
Then they would have to stand tied to a trailer at a new location, with plenty of new distractions such as a pig, goat, chickens, other horses, etc, nearby. Oh, and the bonus was the military F35 jets flying overhead, so close that the ground shook from their engines.
People ask if every time I work with a horse if I'm always "training." No, I am not. BUT I AM always offering a Conversation. Why? Because we don't always have the luxury of time and sometimes you just need to get the job done.
That does not mean, there shouldn't be specific support offered to the horse. It does not mean that if a horse is concerned or unsure that he should be bullied into doing something without thoughtfulness.
As I had to fuss with the horses, though the oncoming raging storm with warnings of oncoming flash flooding, the flies seemed relentless. I had to fuss with fly masks. I had to stop horses mid unloading as a trailer door got slammed behind us due to a gust of wind. I had to shoo off obnoxious curious farm critters these horses had never met. I had to remind them that standing tied was not a mindless act and pawing wasn't part of the participation. Needless to say, there was a lot of stimulation.
So it was an opportunity. For horses that haven't had a lot of real-world exposure, who hadn't met one another, who had no idea what was going to be asked of them. It was a way to expand their comfort zone. To increase their trust that their human experiences would help them to a safe place.
But I was only able to offer this support because previously I had addressed the fundamental basics- spatial pressure, physical pressure, changing their thought, having them learn to let go of concern.
Did that mean every moment was warm and fuzzy emotionally to the horse? Not at all. BUT when I did see the concern in a horse, I was there to intervene. Not with critique, but rather, "How about this instead?" And they each diffused potential mental build-up. So it was a positive opportunity rather than a "surviving the experience" for the horse.
Were their responses instantaneous? No. Will the horses on their own to be able to help themselves yet? A little more, but it will be a progression of decreasing human support as the horse is able to think through and let go of more faster.
And this is what contributes to reasonable horses that are willing to try, to search for what the human is asking of them and to be building their trust in the partnership simultaneously.
Would you like to find how to work towards building the ideal relationship with your horse? Click HERE
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Sam